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An excerpt …

(An older lady gets on the bus.)

ANNE: Excuse me, miss. Is this seat taken?

DARLENE: No, but there are lots of seats on the bus with no one in them …

ANNE: Thank you. (sits) You know … an old lady like me has taken a-many of these long bus trips. I’m rather used to it. Besides, I figured maybe you’d want some company. You know, some girl-to-girl conversation.

DARLENE: Lady, you must be 50 years older than me. I don’t know what it is we got to talk about. (they sit in silence for a few moments)

(A first attempt at conversation fails.)

DARLENE: Look, lady … I been travelin’ a long time, I’m tired and I don’t want to talk. Anyway, there’s no way someone as ancient as you could understand my problems.

ANNE:(pause) Sure … and I don’t aim to bother you, honey, but I can’t help smiling. It seems that the young never catch on. They always believe that running from something is the way to solve problems. You sound just like I did once, only it was a long time ago. I said those exact same words to my mother, right before I left home. Got on a bus … not quite as nice as this one … and took off.

DARLENE: You? Ran away from home? Did they have buses a hundred years ago?

(Come to find out, the lady had run away from home in her youth.)

DARLENE: Then why’d you leave home? Your parents beat ya?

ANNE: No. They were nice people … solid, middle class America. I left because I was bored with life. It was a nice life, but it was boring. Everything was planned and predictable and I wanted some excitement. For instance … they bought me a bicycle.